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Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Vatican
City, 10 December 2013 (VIS) - Today, the Plenary Meeting of MONEYVAL
(the “Committee of Experts on the Evaluation of Anti-Money
Laundering Measures and the Financing of Terrorism”, established by
the Council of Europe) has approved the Progress Report of the Holy
See/ Vatican City State. The Progress Report follows the adoption of
the Mutual Evaluation Report on 4 July 2012 and is part of the
ordinary process in compliance with to the Rules of Procedure of
MONEYVAL, according to a press communique published in the evening of
Monday, 9 December by the Holy See Press Office.

The
progress report, submitted for review during the Plenary, confirms
that significant progress has been made. Upon request by the Holy See
and the Vatican City State the MONEYVAL Secretariat agreed to carry
out a full progress review. Therefore, the report contains an
analysis of progress against the core and key recommendations of the
FATF (Financial Action Task Force), regarding international standards
on combating money laundering and the financing of terrorism.

“The
adoption of the Progress Report confirms the significant efforts
undertaken by the Holy See and the Vatican City State to strengthen
its legal and institutional framework”, said Monsignor Antoine
Camilleri, Under Secretary for Relations with States, and Head of
Delegation of the Holy See and Vatican City State to MONEYVAL. “The
Holy See is fully committed to continuing to improve further the
effective implementation of all necessary measures to build a well
functioning and sustainable system aimed at preventing and fighting
financial crimes.”

In
accordance with the MONEYVAL Rules of Procedure, the Progress Report
will be published in full by the MONEYVAL Secretariat on its website
on Thursday.

At
the legislative level, and among the principal results following the
Mutual Evaluation report of 4 July 2012, Financial Intelligence
Authority (AIF) has been strengthened by the amendment on 14 December
2012 of the Law on the Prevention and Countering of Laundering of
Proceeds of Crimes and Financing of Terrorism. In addition to the
Motu Proprio of Pope Francis on the Laws on Criminal Matters of 11
July 2013, the new laws cover all terrorist offences set forth in the
Conventions annexed to the Terrorist Financing Convention as well as
a new approach to the civil liability of legal persons arising from
crime. In particular, a modern scheme on confiscation, freezing and
seizure has been adopted. The Motu Proprio extended the jurisdiction
of the Vatican Tribunal over criminal offences - including the
financing of terrorism and money laundering - committed by public
officials of the Holy See in the context of the exercise of their
functions, even if outside Vatican territory.

A
further step was the Motu Proprio of His Holiness, Pope Francis, of 8
August 2013 and the Decree of 8 August 2013 introducing norms
relating to transparency, supervision and financial intelligence,
confirmed by the Law of 8 October 2013 introducing norms relating to
transparency, supervision and financial intelligence. This new Act of
the Holy See and the Vatican City State introduces a comprehensive
system in accordance with the international standards to fight
money-laundering and financing of terrorism and is a further step
towards strengthening the system to actively combat any potential
misuse of financial activities within the Vatican City State. It
deals with financial transparency, supervision and financial
intelligence, clarifying and consolidating the functions, powers and
responsibilities of the AIF.

The
framework is completed by the Motu Proprio of 18 November 2013, by
which Pope Francis, established a new organisational structure for
the AIF.

In
terms of operational achievements, important results have been
achieved regarding international cooperation of financial supervisory
organs. In July 2013, the AIF was admitted to the Egmont Group and
over the last months has signed memoranda with Belgium, Spain, USA,
Italy, Slovenia, the Netherlands and, most recently, Germany, and
will continue to broaden its international network to fight money
laundering and terrorism financing.

With
regard to the procedures for review and remediation processes in
institutions under supervision of AIF, the MONEYVAL analysis takes
note of a preliminary review of the customer data base of the
Istituto per le Opere di Religione (IOR) concluded at the end of
2012. It acknowledges an in-depth audit of customer records and
remediation, including analysis of transactions, based on the
findings of this first phase and under the supervision of AIF that
was launched at the beginning of 2013. Furthermore it was noted that
the IOR has redefined the categories of customers entitled to IOR
services.

In
relation to the functioning of the reporting system for the combating
of money-laundering and financing of terrorism, since the adoption of
the Mutual Evaluation Report, an ongoing trend may be observed
towards increased reporting of suspicious activity from different
reporting entities, with a significant growth in 2013. Investigations
based on reports of suspicious transactions have been undertaken and
freezing orders initiated. Due to the remediation process and
improved transaction monitoring processes the AIF recorded a
significant rise in suspicious transaction reports.

Vatican
City, 10 December 2013 (VIS) – The Holy Father has recorded a video
message for the world campaign against worldwide hunger, launched
today by Caritas Internationalis with the theme “One human family,
food for all”.

Caritas’
campaign began with a “wave of prayer”. Starting on the Pacific
Island of Samoa, at midday local time, Caritas organisations at
midday in each country take part in a prayer service to pray and
reflect on the issue of hunger. A press conference was held at 10.30
this morning in the Basilica of St. Cecilia in Rome, with the
participation of, among others, the general secretary of Caritas
Internationalis Michael Roy, the director of Caritas Senegal Abbe
Ambroise Tine, the director of the diocesan branch of Caritas in
Rome, Msgr. Enrico Feroci, and Ferruccio Ferrante, of Caritas
Italiana. The conference included the screening of Pope Francis'
video message, the full text of which we publish below:

Dear
brothers and sisters,

Today,
I am happy to announce to you the launch of a campaign against global
hunger by our very own Caritas Internationalis and to tell you that I
intend to give my full support. This confederation, together with its
164 member organisations works in 200 countries and territories
around the world and its work is at the heart of the mission of the
Church and of Her attention towards all those who suffer because of
the scandal of hunger, those with whom the Lord identified when he
said, “I was hungry and you gave me something to eat”.

When
the Apostles said to Jesus that the people who had come to listen to
his words were hungry, He invited them to go and look for food. Being
poor themselves, all they found were five loaves and two fish. But
with the grace of God, they managed to feed a multitude of people,
even managing to collect what was left over and avoiding that it went
to waste.

We
are in front of a global scandal of around one billion – one
billion people who still suffer from hunger today. We cannot look the
other way and pretend this does not exist. The food available in the
world is enough to feed everyone. The parable of the multiplication
of the loaves and fish teaches us exactly this: that if there is the
will, what we have never ends. On the contrary, it abounds and does
not get wasted.

Therefore,
dear brothers and sisters, I invite you to make space in your heart
for this emergency of respecting the God-given rights of everyone to
have access to adequate food. We share what we have in Christian
charity with those who face numerous obstacles to satisfy such a
basic need. At the same time we promote an authentic cooperation with
the poor so that through the fruits of their and our work they can
live a dignified life.

I
invite all of the institutions of the world, the Church, each of us,
as one single human family, to give a voice to all of those who
suffer silently from hunger, so that this voice becomes a roar which
can shake the world.

This
campaign is also an invitation to all of us to become more conscious
in our food choices, which often lead to waste and a poor use of the
resources available to us. It is also a reminder to stop thinking
that our daily actions do not have an impact on the lives of those
who suffer from hunger first-hand.

I
ask you from the bottom of my heart to support our Caritas
organisations in this noble campaign where they will act as one human
family to ensure food for all.

Let
us pray that the Lord gives us the grace to envisage a world in which
no one must ever again die of hunger. And asking for this grace, I
give you my blessing”.

-
appointed Msgr. Jesus Fernandez Gonzalez as auxiliary of the
archdiocese of Santiago de Compostela (area 8,545, population
1,299,880, Catholics 1,191,800, priests 771, permanent deacons 11,
religious 1,289), Spain. The bishop-elect was born in Selga de
Ordain, Spain in 1955 and was ordained a priest in 1980. He holds a
licentiate in psychology from the Pontifical University of Salamanca,
Spain, and has served in a number of pastoral roles, including priest
in the parishes of Senra and Lazado; formator, professor and rector
in the minor seminary; ordinary professor in the Higher Centre for
Theological Studies, formator in the San Froilan major seminary;
priest in the parish of Cuadros and parish administrator of
Valsemana, and episcopal vicar for pastoral for the clergy. Since
2010 he has served as vicar general of the same diocese, moderator of
the Curia and advisor to the Pastoral Commission of the Spanish
Episcopal Conference.

-
appointed Fr. Urban Federer, O.S.B., as ordinary abbot of the
territorial abbey of Maria Einsiedeln (area 1, population 70,
Catholics 70, priests 48, religious 150), Switzerland. The
abbot-elect was born in Zurigo-Fluntern, Switzerland in 1968 and was
ordained a priest in 1994. He holds a licentiate in German literature
and history, and a doctorate in medieval German studies, both from
the University of Fribourg. He also studied music and Gregorian chant
at the Fribourg Conservatory of Music. He has served as a lecturer in
religion, German language and history at the school in the Abbey of
Maria Einsiedeln, and of spirituality and Gregorian chant in the
theological institute of the same abbey, as well as prefect of
internships, teacher of novices, editor of the magazine “Salve”
and director of the monastic choir. Fr. Federer is currently dean and
vicar general of the same territorial abbey.